Leaching behavior and effectiveness of curing days (7& 28) of solidified/stabilized fly ash based geopolymer (multi-metal bearing sludge): experimental and modeling study.

This paper presents the study of the immobilization of heavy metals like Pb, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn by fly ash based geopolymers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of fly ash based geopolymeric solidification/stabilization technology. For S/S of waste, geopolymer as a binding agent was mixed with waste at different ratios. For initial waste characterization, contaminants concentration and some physical waste characterization such as dry density, bulk density, specific gravity, porosity, moisture holding capacity, and moisture content were determined. Waste and geopolymer mixture were cured for 7 and 28 days to study the effect of curing days on the solidified/ stabilized product. Diffusion leaching test was performed on the geopolymers containing industrial sludge to determine the leaching mechanism of binders to entrap the waste constituents within their matrix. Movement of the elements was identified with the help of leachability index. S/S through geopolymer was found to be effective in immobilizing toxic metals present in the sludge. Zn was 100% and other metals like Pb, Fe, Mn and Cu were in the range 80-99% immobilized. The order of fixation of metals was Zn >Cu > Fe > Mn > Pb.